Exclusive Interview with Animoca's Yat Siu: The U.S. Crypto Industry Has Already Won, and Hong Kong Government Policies Elevate Professional Dignity
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Exclusive Interview with Animoca's Yat Siu: The U.S. Crypto Industry Has Already Won, and Hong Kong Government Policies Elevate Professional Dignity
"Web3 is a way for us to redraw and reshape capitalism."
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterviewee: Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands
Interview and Writing: Wendy, Karen, Foresight News
If NFTs were the undisputed narrative mainstream at Consensus two years ago, then after last year’s downturn, NFTs have become a relatively quiet, niche presence at this year’s Consensus conference.
Under such market volatility, Hong Kong-based project Animoca Brands—deeply invested in the NFT space—has inevitably been affected. However, as co-founder and executive chairman, Yat Siu remains confident. Recently, he personally purchased 10 Bored Apes and other NFT assets, making several bold statements reaffirming his strong belief in NFTs, Bitcoin, and the entire crypto market.
During the Consensus event, Yat Siu sat down for an exclusive on-site interview with Foresight News reporters to further explain these actions and comments, and to respond to global shifts in Web3 regulatory policies.
In his view, “Web3 is a way we can redraw and reshape capitalism.” Once billions of people can own digital assets and participate in their appreciation, it will significantly drive up Bitcoin’s price and the overall value of the crypto market.
As a Web3 entrepreneur and investor based in Hong Kong, Yat Siu believes that the region’s government support for the crypto industry not only provides innovators with a favorable policy environment but also elevates the dignity of professionals in the field. Moreover, current political discourse and policy adjustments mean that regardless of the outcome of the U.S. election, the crypto community has already won.
NFT Network Effects Are Still Early—Gaming Is the Catalyst
Foresight News: First, could you explain why you recently bought so many Bored Apes?
Yat Siu: About three weeks ago, I bought 10 Bored Apes. At the time, their price was very low. As for why—I’m a huge fan of Bored Apes. Also, I felt they were going through a tough period, and I strongly believe we owe something to the Bored Ape community—not just Animoca, but the entire ecosystem—because it was Bored Apes that brought NFTs into the mainstream and made the world aware of NFTs. This purchase was a way to express our gratitude. Of course, another reason is that owning 10 Bored Apes allows me to stake them, and ApeCoin has some value too.
Since my purchase, the price of Bored Apes has gone up a bit, which is good. I don’t plan to sell them. Many people now think I did the right thing, and others are starting to buy Bored Apes too.
I’ve bought many NFTs, not just Bored Apes.
Foresight News: Including the recent 10, how many Bored Apes do you hold in total?
Yat Siu: I haven’t counted exactly, but probably around 20 to 25.
Foresight News: The overall NFT market seems somewhat quiet now. While some project teams believe there's still potential for recovery, do you truly agree with that outlook?
Yat Siu: NFT sales in Q1 exceeded $3 billion. So while we’re not at the peak, it’s not bad—still around $700 million to $800 million per month. It’s not as bad as people say.
NFTs are carriers of digital culture. Whether it’s Bitcoin Ordinals, Ethereum ERC-721, Solana NFTs, or other types, they represent the cultural and ecosystem value of communities.
In the physical world, when you make money and want to display your social status in traditional society, you might buy a car, a bag, a house, or even a yacht or private jet. In Web3 and the digital world, NFTs serve a similar function. If you make money in the Ethereum ecosystem, owning a Bored Ape becomes part of that honor; in the Bitcoin ecosystem, it’s Ordinals. You’ll notice each ecosystem has specific NFT types because you need ways to show your connection to the community and your social standing. So for me, as Web3 grows, NFTs will grow too.
The second reason NFTs don’t seem to grow as fast as other tokens is that their network effects are still in early stages. This is because NFT interoperability—though permissionless—isn’t yet widely implemented, as people haven’t built those applications. Token network effects are everywhere—they can transfer liquidity across chains. But for NFTs, that infrastructure isn’t mature yet.
But I believe this will change as more people enter Web3. Recent moves by Ton and Telegram, along with gaming developments, suggest more users will be drawn into Web3, driving growth in NFT utility, purchases, trading, and secondary market volume. So I believe the future of NFTs is bright—even if they’ll look a bit different and continue evolving with the market.
Foresight News: Speaking of adoption, what role do you think games play in popularizing NFTs?
Yat Siu: I think the role of gaming is enormous. That’s why we’ve made over 150 investments in various Web3 gaming companies, and we’ll keep doing so.
We believe it will grow because gamers are very natural Web3 users, especially in Asia. Games already have elements of virtual currency—like players owning skins—so they have an instinctive understanding. Some traditional Asian game developers—like Square Enix—are now experimenting with NFTs.
Moreover, games attract younger demographics, which aligns perfectly with Web3’s growth narrative. In South Korea, 60% of people under 30 own cryptocurrency—the link between youth and crypto is stronger. Gaming is arguably the dominant form of digital youth culture today, so it will drive adoption. Games have historically driven many technological trends. Without gaming, we wouldn’t have GPUs powerful enough for Bitcoin mining or the AI machines we have today. Without gaming, we wouldn’t have companies like Razer, glowing keyboards, or curved monitors. Even something like Angry Birds created one of the biggest use cases for smartphones. So gaming has always been a key driver of digital adoption—and we believe it will be the same for Web3.
Foresight News: Looking at recent headlines, you've made some bold statements—for example,saying Bitcoin could reach $1 million, or that the entire crypto market could hit$200 trillion within 10 years by 2030. Briefly explain the reasoning behind these predictions. Do you have similarly bold predictions for NFTs?
Yat Siu: I said “maybe”—it’s possible.
First, regarding Bitcoin’s price—it’s about scarcity, only 21 million exist. So if we believe billions will enter Web3 and own crypto, then owning a whole Bitcoin becomes a symbol of status—like owning property in Beverly Hills, Mayfair, or Atherton. Some wealthy people don’t actually live there, but owning property in those areas represents status. I believe Bitcoin will play a similar role in the digital realm. This status attribute makes me think Bitcoin’s value will rise.
As for market size, I was simply giving an example of how this sector could grow—showing it could scale 100x. I was surprised when I saw that headline—did I really say that? But regardless of whether it’s 20x, 30x, 50x, or 100x, the exact number isn’t the point. What matters is that it will grow extremely fast.
Because when you move from an era without property rights or capital appreciation to one where such potential exists, you see explosive value acceleration as network effects compound.
If you can never own a house, only rent it, there’s no capital gain, no wealth creation. A thousand years ago, only kings, lords, and dukes could own land. Most ordinary people farmed land but couldn’t own it, so they couldn’t accumulate wealth. When we started giving property rights to ordinary people, economic and capitalist development caused GDP in those markets to soar. Today, global GDP is over $100 trillion—this growth stems from our ability to own physical property.
Yet many people worldwide still lack meaningful property ownership. Imagine if most people globally could own equity, could own assets—what would happen? I believe we’d see explosive value growth, possibly 100x.
My point is, we can now build an ecosystem where everyone owns property. So potentially, anyone anywhere could own a valuable asset. Imagine what happens if 100 million people own Ethereum. What happens to token value? To ecosystem value? Right now, we’re still far from its true potential. When 100 million or 1 billion people use these tokens, network effect values will skyrocket. That’s what I meant.
Today’s total crypto market cap is around $2.6–2.7 trillion—network effects are still tiny. At most, only tens of millions use DeFi. Broadly speaking, crypto adoption is still very low.
U.S. Election Year—Crypto Has Already Won
Foresight News: I just attended Kennedy’s media Q&A session. He said he bought three Bitcoins for each of his kids. Do you feel this year’s Consensus has too much political flavor?
Yat Siu: But it’s not surprising, right? I think people are celebrating politics.
Compared to last year, when attendees were very discouraged, almost defeated, this year I sense more joy and a hint of victory energy. We now have the power to achieve shocking things like FIT21 passing—meaning grassroots support for crypto in the U.S. may be stronger than we thought. Why has this become such a bipartisan issue? Politicians realize voting against crypto could cost them their jobs. This suggests voters aren’t as anti-crypto as traditional media claims. Support for Web3 in the U.S. is larger than we imagined.
It’s like the 2016 U.S. election—everyone thought Hillary Clinton would win, but it turned out people who voted for Trump didn’t tell others. Because, you know, it was kind of awkward. Or maybe opponents of Trump were just louder—like “I don’t want to argue with you.” Maybe crypto is the same. Perhaps more Americans like crypto—they just don’t talk about it.
Therefore, I think the U.S. could regain its leadership in blockchain—and I believe that’s good for the world, as it will accelerate industry development. So I’m very optimistic about this.
Foresight News: So am I correct in understanding that you believe the so-called "election effect" will actually benefit the crypto space?
Yat Siu: Yes. Because it’s becoming a narrative—people are now talking about crypto positively in politics, which didn’t happen before. Personally, I believe this means the crypto community has already achieved an initial victory, no matter who wins.
Even Democrats are saying we need a more positive stance toward the industry. So to me, in terms of significance for crypto, it barely matters who wins. Because recent legislation and public reaction have already shifted the landscape.
I’m not an expert on this—I’m just observing.
Hong Kong’s Friendly Policies Elevate Dignity of Crypto Professionals
Foresight News: What about Hong Kong? There have been many friendly policies lately, like ETFs.
Yat Siu: I heard they’re even discussing possibly allowing staking rewards for ETF holders. Wow. It’s not confirmed—just a discussion. But the fact that such discussions are happening is fascinating.
Foresight News: As an investor and entrepreneur in Hong Kong, how do you personally view this trend of increasingly supportive policies?
Yat Siu: I think it’s great. The government has consistently been supportive. And you know, when you have a government backing you—even if they don’t do much (though Hong Kong has done a lot, with a Web3 fund, investments, and promotions)—having that support raises societal respect. In Hong Kong, working in Web3 is cool—you get respect. If you hire people, they want to work for a Web3 company.
Last year in the U.S., if you worked at a Web3 company, you had to pretend you weren’t. You’d hide it—no media interviews, sometimes not even telling friends—because it seemed awkward. Hiring talent was hard.
When you have to operate in secret, it’s difficult. You might even feel a bit ashamed, right? So a supportive government doesn’t just give you money or legal frameworks—those are important—but it also gives you dignity, a sense of value, a feeling that you’re working in something important.
I know the crypto industry is anti-establishment and sometimes goes to extremes. But ultimately, the government’s voice carries weight. I believe Hong Kong’s positive stance helps advance the field.
Foresight News: Animoca is heavily invested in NFTs. During market downturns, have you faced pressure from investors or others—given inevitable paper losses?
Yat Siu: I know what you mean, but we haven’t faced any such pressure because performance has been solid. We hold over $2 billion or $2.5 billion in token assets, excluding equity. Plus, nearly $300 million in cash. So the business is doing well. Our investors understand this is a volatile industry with market cycles. In fact, I’d say most feedback has been positive.
We believe Web3 will create a world with greater financial inclusion, a way for more people to own assets. Web3 is a way we can redraw and reshape capitalism. That’s a very important point.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
Foresight News
